I agree. I am curious why a single male visitor would pose a problem to women staffers. As a male museum visitor who is more frequently alone than not, I am on the verge of being offended by your assertion. I am reserving my umbrage for a more complete explanation. I am sure there is a simple, innocent explanation. But to answer your question, yes. I have noticed male visitors are more likely alone. But then I have tradtionally worked in museums of industry and technology, so I am hardly a representative sample. My current institution is currently crunching just those numbers, so I will get back to you. I am sure someone has done a study to determine if this is true and if so why. I would start with a work of popular social science called "Bowling Alone," and move on from there. Matthew White Director, Hands On Science Center National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institution -----Original Message----- >From: Candace Perry <[log in to unmask]> >Sent: Dec 11, 2006 5:12 PM >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Men on walk-in tours > >Forgive me for being dense, but are you asking this from a security >standpoint, or something else? >Candace Perry > > >-----Original Message----- >From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On >Behalf Of Rizzo, Mary >Sent: Monday, December 11, 2006 4:41 PM >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Men on walk-in tours > > >Dear List Members: > >I'm curious about your experiences.. At all the museums I've worked at >(all in New Jersey) I can only think of one instance where a solitary >woman came for a 'walk-in' or unreserved tour. Women come in pairs or >groups, but hardly ever alone. Men, however, come in regularly by >themselves, which can pose an interesting problem as a great deal of >museum staffers are women. I can pose some possible reasons for this, >but I was wondering if all of you have had the same experiences or >whether a study has been done about single male v. single female >visitation. > >Just curious! > >Mary Rizzo > >========================================================= >Important Subscriber Information: > >The Museum-L FAQ file is located at >http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed >information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message >to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" >(without the quotes). > >If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to >[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff >Museum-L" (without the quotes). > >========================================================= >Important Subscriber Information: > >The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). > >If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).